Latest Foe Of Smart Growth: Dept. Of Defense

11 May 2005 - 8:00am

Harsh new security precautions for federal office buildings are threatening to derail otherwise successful Smart Growth efforts in the Washington D.C. region.

New Department of Defense regulations detailing security around federal office buildings require, among other things, that buildings not on military bases be set back at least 82 feet from traffic to protect against truck bombs. Though other federal agencies have less stringent setback requirements, the new rules nonetheless threaten to move tens of thousands of jobs located in walkable, transit-oriented communities inside Washington’s beltway to new fortress complexes in the distant exurbs.

Source: The Washington Post, May 10, 2005
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Every dollar spent on new and wider highways is a dollar taken from taxpayers, and every inch of right-of-way that Big Brother takes is an inch taken from landowners.